How to market your gap year to employers

Finding a job after a gap year could be easier than you think. We explain how to present the skills you developed while travelling or working in your CV and job applications.

Research has shown that future employers are impressed by candidates who have done something useful in their gap year. If you’ve done voluntary work, or paid work, you’ve obviously done something productive and will have plenty of skills to show for it. Even a year spent backpacking will have helped you to develop essential ‘soft skills’ such as using your initiative, self-reliance, stamina, flexibility and communication. You may also have picked up other skills, such as foreign languages.

Gap year soft skills that boost your CV

Many employers feel that universities don’t sufficiently develop the ‘soft skills’ necessary in the world of work. These skills are often picked up during a year out. Taking time off before starting your career may actually help you achieve promotion sooner.

Even a year spent backpacking will have helped you to develop essential ‘soft skills’ such as using your initiative, self-reliance, stamina, flexibility and communication.

Planning your gap year project and making it a success calls for enthusiasm and good project management. If you’ve spent six months teaching English, you’ll have developed strong communication and leadership skills. Involvement in the construction of a well in Somalia will have tested your teamwork abilities and may have given you a chance to show leadership qualities. Just choosing to leave the security of home demonstrates that you’re eager for a challenge and willing to face new situations. Travelling independently requires organisational ability and increases independence and confidence. Mobility, flexibility and adaptability are currency in the current job market.

Even more skills to show off

If you put together and carried out a successful fundraising scheme to pay for your gap year project, that may provide you with evidence of analytical and problem-solving skills, creativity and innovation, lateral thinking and networking and rapport building. If you took on a job to save up for the trip, that shows you are highly motivated. It will also have given you concrete work experience and may have developed soft skills such as commercial awareness. Any work you have done is potential evidence of your employability – even picking up casual work on your way round the world demonstrates your resourcefulness and flexibility.

How your gap year helps you stand out when you apply for jobs

Employers look for interesting people, who would do the job well and be a pleasure to work with. (At least some of them may have similar gap year experiences to your own.) They’ll see loads of applications from graduates with great qualifications. Your gap year could be a great way of standing out from the crowd. Seeing new places and meeting new people will have taught you about other cultures and lifestyles and you’re likely to have a more mature attitude than applicants straight from university.

Show your commitment to starting a career after your year out

Some employers may be worried about how committed you are to the world of work. If you’ve become accustomed to a mobile lifestyle, moving on whenever you get bored, what’s to keep you from deciding to take off again as soon as you have a tough week at work? You will need to demonstrate your dedication to the 'real world' of work. Perhaps, after your travels, you appreciate the comforts of life in a developed country. Now that your wanderlust is sated, you may be keen to settle in one place and put down roots and develop friendships that are lasting rather than transitory.

Remember employers may want employees who are willing to travel

If you are employed by a large multinational company, your employer may want you to undertake a placement abroad at some point. Experience of living and working in a different culture may help to prove your suitability for this kind of opportunity. The cultural sensitivities you developed during your gap year could also help you to work more effectively with international colleagues and clients.

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